A 10-year career in radiography started with a broken finger for Saint Joseph East CT Technologist Lead Danielle Kruger.
“I broke my middle finger and ripped the fingernail down to the nail bed, plus fractured my distal phalanx,” Danielle said. "I ended up having X-rays before surgery and the technologist that did my X-rays told me about all the different modalities there are in radiology.
"I looked into the [now defunct] Saint Joseph Radiography Program after that surgery, shadowed for a day at Saint Joseph Hospital, then [applied and] made it through the program in 2011 and have been at Saint Joseph East ever since."
Danielle now helps others who are dealing with unseen ailments through X-rays, CT scans and other modalities.
“We make a big impact even though we’re not with a patient every day like nurses are,” Danielle said. “We’re that person if someone is getting chemotherapy, they’ll come in once a month to see us for scans, so we get close to those people. It’s great to see them progress and reach milestones or if they end up coming back to us, reassure them that everything will be OK.”
“We’re kind of the first people who get to see these patients before they get their diagnosis. They look to us for cheering up and positivity because they may not know why they’re getting these scans and what the scans mean. Our duty is to calm them down and cheer them up.”
Danielle floats between CT and X-rays to help her teams catch up and fill in where needed in her role. She also does ordering for her department and works with X-ray students as the clinical instructor.
“I try to make sure our students know before they get into it as the clinical instructor for the Morehead State University program,” Danielle said.
Balancing many facets of her role, Danielle was recognized as Saint Joseph East’s Employee of the Year last year. She said the honor came as a surprise and gives credit to her supervisor, Josh Reedy, as the glue of their team.
“He knows what position we’re in, so he’s always pulling for us,” Danielle said. “He makes our job 10 times easier. He goes to bat for you, no matter if he has time or not. Our department has worked with each other for so long, it’s like family when you come to work.”
Outside of work, Danielle is an assistant volleyball coach at a local high school and enjoys free time with her husband and daughter.
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Spirit of Health magazine's print edition is distributed quarterly and focuses on topics related to our CHI Saint Joseph Health purpose and values.
